As Arsenal continue to drag their heels over Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, one former striker has blasted the club for their insouciance.
The Gabonese has been a chief source of goals for the Gunners, and Kevin Campbell believes that the north Londoners can’t afford to allow him to walk away.
“Aubameyang guarantees you goals, and if you sell your goals you’re in a very difficult position to replace them,” Campbell said on Monday’s talkSPORT Breakfast and cited by talkSPORT.
“He’s guaranteed to get you 20 goals a season, minimum, so how are you going to replace that?
“If you don’t give him what he wants, it’s going to cost more to find someone to replace him, and even then they are not proven they can come in and do it.
“He’s in the building! Yes, he’s going to be 31 but he’s still lean, he’s still sharp, he’s still fast – this is the type of player you build around.
“I don’t know what they’re thinking at the club, but I’d have signed him a year ago!”
At present, it isn’t clear what’s happening behind the scenes, or whether the player himself has expressed a preference to move on.
Although he is the wrong side of 30 years of age, which is often a no-no for some teams, he hasn’t lost his eye for goal, and as Campbell notes, that isn’t easy to replace.
Given an expected lack of finances because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s doubtful that Arsenal will be able to replace ‘like for like’ in any event, were Aubameyang to move on.
That has to be a factor in their thinking when it comes to discussing any new deal for the player, and short-term pain financially might well see long-term gain.